Buttons
by elenwyn
Summary: No. Not kiss him. Because Peter was her uncle, and that would be a very un-niece like thing to do. Claire seems to be having a little trouble of containing certain 'feelings' at one of Nathan's parties. Canon!Paire. One-shot.


**A.N:** It seems my muse has come back for a bit, 'cause it's only been a few days since I posted my last one. This story's more upbeat, partly because of the music I was listening to - _Sia, Buttons_ - and partly because I was getting a little fed up of writing angsty!Paire (even though that's what they are, really.)

I just thought they deserved a little more happiness for once :)

So...this is still canon!Paire, but happy canon!Paire.

Canon up to the end of Season 1, AU after that. (And also incest, so don't read if you don't like.)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Heroes, as Kring owns it but, boy, if I did? Peter and Claire would've been together a looong time ago.

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_"You got me pushing imaginary buttons, step away from me lover, away from me lover."_

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_Another one of Nathan's political parties, excellent_, Claire thought, sitting idly at one of the large round tables decked out in red, white and blue – _how patriotic of him._

She had, yet again, been dragged to this event by her terrifying grandmother – "You're a Petrelli, Claire, act like one," - forced to wear this red _garment_ as the rest of the family were all wearing the blasted colour, and was now swirling around a glass of punch with a straw, feeling extremely bored and more than a little out of place.

Looking over to her left, she could see Peter – _Uncle Peter? No, it just doesn't __sound__ right_ – nodding politely to Senator What's-his-face, while obviously not being interested in the subject matter whatsoever. Catching her eye for a split second, he smiled in her direction, and began to excuse himself from the conversation.

Claire hated it when he smiled like _that_, his mouth turning into that lazy, half-smirk that just made her want to kiss him.

No.

Not kiss him.

Because Peter was her uncle, and that would be a very un-niece like thing to do. And exceedingly inappropriate, especially in present company.

_Dammit, he's walking this way – niece-time, Claire. __Family. Related. __Not attractive in any w – who am I kidding?_

"Hey, ready to throw yourself out of the window yet?" Peter joked upon reaching her, seating himself down in the chair opposite and throwing another – _annoyingly attractive_ – grin her way.

"Thinking about it," Claire mumbled, keeping her eyes focused mostly on the last remnants of ice that were spinning around in her glass, "Hate these things, they're so..._boring_."

She immediately grimaced inwardly, _Way to sound like a fed up teenager, Claire – very mature._

But Peter just laughed, 'cause it was Peter and he would've been nice about her anyway, no matter what she said, - _Damn empath_ – "Couldn't agree more, you think Nathan would learn to entertain more interesting company."

His roll of the eyes towards that Senator guy now cornering Heidi by the punch bowl succeeded in making Claire burst into giggles, before instantly coughing awkwardly, "Yeah...I guess."

She could see Peter frowning out of the corner of her eye – probably wondering why she was acting so strangely – and the atmosphere was decidedly _awkward_.

Her fingers laced and unlaced themselves together multiple times, sort of wishing he would just _go away_ so she could actually begin to inhale oxygen again.

"You sure you're ok?" He probed, looking all concerned and sweet and – _Dammit, Peter! Stop it!_ – so, _cute_ that Claire felt all discombobulated.

"Yep, yeah, definitely, all ok over here, heh…" She grinned widely for good measure.

_Dear God, you __idiot_.

"Actually, you'll have to excuse me, I'm gonna get a drink -" Then she noticed her glass was still half full, "– Of _water..._don't really like this punch stuff..."

Claire got up and fled the scene quite briskly – _If I do say so myself_ – walking out of the room and passing the bar completely before taking a turn for the gardens outside.

_Fresh air, thank you, Lord._

Was it her, or was it getting extremely hot in there? It was probably just her, _or the presence of certain people, duh_, but Claire felt relieved at the cool air that breezed around her body, and finally felt able to breathe.

"Get a grip, Bennet," she chastised herself, wishing she wasn't so darn transparent about the whole 'crush-on-my-totally-hot-uncle' thing. It wasn't like she planned it – he was good looking, with his emo bangs and intense eyes, and _he_ was the one that started flirting with her at Homecoming in the first place! _Plus_ he carried on being all lovely and caring when she was in New York, so what self-respecting girl wouldn't fall for him?

Yeah, Peter was to blame for the _whole_ thing.

That made her feel better.

"Funny kind of place to get water from," a voice sounded from behind her.

_Damn. It. I can't get away!_

"Oh, erm, I just...hot in there so...I...came out here," Claire pirouetted awkwardly on the cobbled pavement to face him, trying to put on her best smile. Unfortunately, she caught the heel of her shoe and stumbled forward. She was waiting for the impact when Peter grabbed hold of her forearms and steadied her, bringing his face, and whole body really, within precariously close proximity.

_Totally my hero – again. Oh God, oh God, no, Claire, no. This line will not be crossed. Nope. Not crossing it. Nuh-uh._

"You ok?" She could feel his voice reverberating around her, and swallowed thickly, "...Yeah...I'm ok..."

..._Dangerously close to crossing line right now..._

And, oh, _God_, this was where she realised that he can _read minds_ for God's sake and immediately went into hyperventilating zone. Seriously. 'Cause if she could go into cardiac arrest right about now, she _so_ would.

"Claire..." She kept her eyes level with his chest, her throat dry and hands shaking.

"...Yeah?" She asked tentatively, daring to glance up at his face and instantaneously falling prey to the pair of _gorgeous_ brown eyes that Peter possessed.

"You think too much," he smiled softly and Claire felt her resolve weaken over crossing that line – _who drew that stupid line anyway? – _as she swore his lips were coming closer in contact with hers, and if she _just_ moved that fraction of an inch forward…

"Peter!"

Said Petrelli turned around to face his brother, and Claire felt an immediate loss of warmth, and wondered why she felt like crying – _stupid girly hormones._

"Coming, Nate," Peter returned, spinning back round with a mischievous grin on his face that she was instantly wary of – _and that her heart was fluttering over._

"I think," he whispered, tugging at a lock of her hair before placing it behind her ear, "we should talk about this 'line', later."

A quick kiss on the forehead and he was gone, leaving Claire in a very befuddled, _but very giddy_, state of mind.

_Lines? They rock. Crossing them? Hell yeah._

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End file.
